Editor’s Note: Presenting Brand You

We all know that people fear public speaking more than they fear death! It is scary to stand in front of a group and keep them engaged, interested, entertained, and alive! Yet, it is one of the most powerful tools you can use to demonstrate your personal brand and build your credibility and visibility. If your fear presenting and want to do something about it, here are 4 platforms to practice presenting your personal brand in a compelling way! Look for the local chapters and events near you.

PechaKucha Nights: Imagine giving a presentation using only 20 slides that run non-stop at 20 seconds each? Once the presentation starts, you have 6 minutes and 40 seconds to get your point across. You cannot stop, you cannot pause, you cannot turn back. You are at the mercy of the PechaKucha Style of presenting! Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, the presentation format is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. PechaKucha Nights are worldwide. Here is a sample of a Pecha Kucha talk I did earlier this year.

TEDx Events: Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level. In my experience the TEDx forum is on par with a typical TED event and the exposure for your brand is tremendous.

Prezi Nights: Prezi Nights are not at frequent as PechaKucha and TEDx, but they are starting to grow around the world. The only caveat is you must design a deliver your talk using the Prezi platform. Prezis are really cool presentations but it does take a bit of patience and creativity to build a presentation using the Prezi dashboard.

Toastmasters International: Of course we cannot forget the classic organization that really started it all. Toastmasters enables you to practice different types of prepared presentations as well as impromptu speeches. At Toastmasters you also receive feedback from the general audience and focused input from ‘helper’ roles such as The Grammarian, The Ah-Counter, and The Timer.

All of these platforms are excellent venues to practice your public speaking skills. But, if you want to develop your ability to present more clearly and design better slides then you MUST add Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen and Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology books to your collection. Garr and Nancy have transformed the way people present and are leading the way to rid us of the ‘Death by PowerPoint’ culture!

Peter Sterlacci, combines personal branding strategy with cycling imagery to empower on-the-move careerists in global companies in Japan to shift gears, get out of the saddle, and sprint to career success.

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